Men's DIII Lacrosse: Top Teams Battle it Out as Stevenson Hosts Tufts

When the No. 2 Stevenson Mustangs host the No. 1 Tufts Jumbos tonight, Division III lacrosse fans will notice two very similar teams fighting it out for bragging rights. Marquee attack units, midfields that thrive in transition and finally, formidable backlines that will try to keep up with the fast pace.

It's sure to be a high intensity game that could very well be a foreshadowing of Memorial Day weekend, though both teams have a long way to go.

The game has been delayed to 8 p.m. at Towson's Unitas Stadium on Wednesday because of rain. There will be no charge for fans.

Eight games into their season, the Mustangs are much more battle-tested, having played three top-10 teams in eight days, most notably a 10-8 decision over No. 4 Cortland on Saturday. They'll bring in a veteran attack unit, like Tufts', that has no shortage of firepower, led by Jimmy Dailey (26, 21). Whichever Jumbos' defenseman (my guess would be Fairfield transfer Matt Callahan) shadows the remarkably quick and smooth senior has an extremely tough assignment.

Dailey is surrounded by seasoned players who flat out make plays, most notably Richie Ford, who has 15 goals, 7 assists, on the year. The midfield is also an area of strength - Mike Daly could have trouble deciding who gets the pole, as freshman Tony Rossi (12, 9) and senior Kyle Moffitt (12, 3) are very capable of wreaking havoc when dodging from up top or in transition. Fifth-year senior Sean Calabrese is another exceptional first line middie and emotional leader.

A key battle lies at the face-off X between Tufts' Nick Rhoads and Stevenson's Ray Witte. Rhoads, a junior, is a big, strong FOGO that can wear his opponent down and is certainly capable of getting hot, despite winning just under 50% of face-offs taken this year. Witte is one of the best in the business, winning 300 a year ago, good for 2nd Team All-American honors.

"Ray is really the cornerstone in our offense, no question," says Dailey, the team's leading point-getter. "We couldn't play with our tempo and style if he wasn't so dominant at the X and we all have a ton of confidence in him."

This past weekend, Rhoads went head-to-head with Colby's Craig Bunker, arguably the nation's top FOGO, and went 8-for-26 on the day. Witte is certainly on the same level — if the Jumbos falter at the face-off X, they could find themselves behind early due to Stevenson's scary-good transition offense.

In the Mustangs' 10-8 home win over Cortland, they were met by a gritty, well-coached team that were slow and deliberate with the ball offensively, stalling with the intention of keeping the ball out of Stevenson's sticks as much as possible. That tactic worked for much of the game until Witte and Rossi helped the 'Stangs pull away in the fourth.

That will not be a tactic that the Jumbos will bring with them to Baltimore.

"We know what to expect from them and respect what Stevenson does but we have no plans to change what we do as a team," Daly says. "And we know that they'll expose all of our weaknesses and we hope to do the same.

Every player and both coaches had similar comments regarding what is to be expected for Wednesday's showdown between the top two Division III teams in the land.

"Both teams are incredibly fast so it's certainly going to be an up-and-down game ," senior midfielder Matt Witko says. "It could ultimately come down to the fundamentals, too. We're prepared to compete in a playoff-type atmosphere as well and certainly respect what they've accomplished thus far."

While the Mustangs' high-flying offense and much improved defense has been getting the headlines, the Jumbos bring plenty of punch offensively. Mike Daly returned the top five scorers on offense, the first defending champion to do so in a over a decade.

It all starts with D.J. Hessler, IL's Preseason Player of the Year, a savvy and athletic attackman who broke Tufts' all-time scoring record a week ago against LaSell. The senior is pass-first, with a pair of tremendous shooters in Sean Kirwan (16, 0) and Ryan Molloy (6, 5) being the beneficiaries of Hessler's setup work. Hessler, the quarterback, will be shadowed by senior Evan Douglass, one of the best defensemen in the country. You will not see a pair of attackmen harder to shut down then Dailey and Hessler.

Matt Witko (49, 7 in 2010) and Kevin McCormick (27, 12 in 2010) have emerged as major threats dodging from up top. Defensively, senior longstick Alec Bialosky and junior Steven Foglietta will set the tone. Bialosky is an offensive-minded LSM but will need do a great job covering the Mustangs' midfielders. Foglietta has been pushed hard in the offseason, according to Daly, and thrives in big game situations, especially the Jumbos' final two contests last year against Cortland and Salisbury.

With Tufts just three games into the year and their Southern counterpart eight games in (including four wins over top 10 opponents), it's safe to say that this would be a completely different game if it were played in early May. Regardless, a fantastic matchup between two well-coached programs on the rise.